The "Discovery Case" of this site's title is an interactive treasure chest loaded with beautifully-presented information on dozens of subjects relating to Ancient Egypt. Aimed at older students and adults, with a teacher's area and links to resources. Dr. Brain says, "This one's a keeper!"

Tip: During the school year, you can click the question mark icon at the bottom of the menu to "Ask an Egyptologist."

This is the place to learn about Rome, whether you're a middle-grade student or an adult with an active sense of adventure. Lots and lots of content everywhere, with a timeline, fun facts, pop-up glossary definitions, printable activities galore, and a teachers and parents' area. Dr. Brain is impressed.

Tip: At the bottom of each subject page are links to "More to Explore," with even more interesting stuff, and a quiz about the page's contents.

Created as a companion site to the PBS series of the same name, these pages contain a wealth of historical, cultural, and literary information, as well as links to other classroom resources. And it's gorgeous to look at, too.

This great site discusses the fall of four once-great civilizations now known to us only through ruins: the Maya, Mesopotamia, Chaco Canyon, and Mali & Songhai. Interactive hands-on explorations in two of the units, and lots of archaeological web resources for further study.

Not exactly interactive in the best sense, but thoroughly interlinked to photos, ancient texts, directories of links and resources about the ancient world. Lots of great information if you don't get lost in all the links.

Tip: Links to the "seven wonders" are contained in the illustration at the top of the page.

The artistic brilliance and sophisticated vision of a civilization that stretched from Ireland to Turkey - richly illustrated with 120 glorious color photos and specially commissioned artworks across every page

A beautifully-presented and comprehensive site about the history of Australia through its documents. Dr. Brain is willing to bet that unless you actually are Australian you know very little about this fascinating, vital nation. Maybe it's time you learned. Explore via Places, Pathways (theme trails), a Timeline of events, or the Picture Album. There's a useful site directory, and a glossary of possibly unfamiliar words.

Tip: Indigenous Australians are advised that this website may include images or names of people now deceased.

Ned Kelly (1854-1889) is Australia's most infamous folk hero, soon to be the subject of a major motion picture starring Australian actor Heath Ledger. This site unfolds the story and the legend of Ned and his gang in numerous well-designed and well-illustrated pages packed with information and entertainment. Dr. Brain says, "Don't miss this one!"

Tip: The opening page, linked above, is not to be missed, but if the navigation confuses you, let us suggest this page for a clearer idea of the site structure.

Three billion year old fossilized organisms off the western coast; a giant lobster on the side of a highway; empty, forbidding spaces... this is Australia, a giant, mostly barren continent in the Indian Ocean populated by fewer people than are born each year in China

A briefer history of Australia than Documenting a Democracy, above, this is nonetheless a good overview of the major points of Australian history from prehistory until 1901. Includes a timeline of events from 1901-1994.

Tip: Indigenous Australians are advised that this website may include images or names of people now deceased.

This site focuses on Ned Kelly's friend and lieutenant Joseph Byrne, a man whose role in the history of the famed Ned Kelly gang is usually undreplayed, according to the site's author. Painstakingly researched and illustrated with many old photographs, the site chronicles Joe's life (with more to come) and his association with Ned Kelly. Sections on Joe Byrne's unique armour, and the text of some historical documents are of interest.

Viewers will certainly enjoy what's there now, but at present there's a lot promised but still missing, which Dr.Brain hopes will soon be remedied.

All the most up-to-date information on the Great Barrier Reef; everything you need to plan your dives down to the smallest detail. Animal and plant life, depths, hazards, weather, lighting conditions, and lots more.

Guy Fawkes, often referred to as "the only man ever to enter Parliament with honest intentions," was the most celebrated (and most burned in effigy) of 13 conspirators in the "Gunpowder Plot" of 1605. If you have no idea what Dr. Brain is talking about, or if you want to learn more about 17th century English history, this is the place to start. The site hasn't been updated recently, and much seems to be promised that was never added, but you'll find quite a bit of info here, and some links to further study.

The ideal introduction to English history - concise, informative, highly readable and beautifully illustrated, - the broad outline of England's political, economic and cultural history from Neolithic times

The war between the royal Houses of Lancaster and York, the longest and most complex in British history, profoundly altered the course of the monarchy - the war itself and the historic figures who fought it on the great stage of England

7 beautifully-illustrated learning areas. Each page gives a brief overview, then offers a more detailed article from a link at the bottom. Here and there are mini-pictures leading to even more details. Medieval life at home, in towns, in the church, and much more.

Tip: Don't ignore the link at bottom if you want more details than are offered on the first page of each learning area.

This is a very brief overview of the Medieval period, its social and political systems, and everyday life. It's a good place to start if you're curious, and very well designed and illustrated with photographs and paintings. If it presented more material it would quickly earn a fourth brain in our ratings.

Tip: The author is updating the site, so bookmark and come back from time to time.

Explore the history of Canada by theme (First Peoples, New France, Women, etc.), by time period, or by media type. The site features links to historical art, maps, government records, manuscripts and more from the Canadian National Archives. Play games, unscramble puzzles, download a Canadian Treasures screensaver.

Tip: Both broad and deep, this site's easy to get lost in, but well worth the trip. Pack a bag.

"an online exhibition produced by the Chicago Historical Society and Academic Technologies of Northwestern University to mark the 125th anniversary of one of the most famous events in American history, as well as the most formative event in the history of Chicago," this site views an event of monumental historic significance from many different viewpoints, including eyewitness acconts, contemporary newspaper accounts, fiction, poetry, and art. Stunning depth and breadth of information, well-presented. Dr. Brain says "You'll learn why you should have learned more about the Great Chicago Fire. This is a real WOW of a site."

Tip: Be sure to check out both ends of the site: The Great Chicago Fire and The Web of Memory.

An ongoing interactive project dedicated to Barnum's American Museum, one of the cultural wonders of 19th century America, which was destroyed by fire on 13 July 1865. A visual and auditory feast for those with fast internet connections (a 'slow connection version is also available from the link above). Explore the 3-D virtual reality museum; open doors and drawers and cabinets. See the actual contents of the museum reproduced (with numerous links to related reasources), and launch your own investigation into the causes of the mysterious fire that destroyed this amazing piece of American history. Dr. Brain would like to give this one six brains!

Tip: Use the arrows to move around in each section of the museum, and don't neglect the "Archive" link when it appears, for fascinating additional information. You can also browse the entire museum archives from the "Browse the Archives" link at the bottom of each museum page.

Tip: Explore, explore, explore. Click on everything. And come back again, as the project continues to grow.

Another of those wonderful PBS sites with lots of great information beautifully presented; a companion site to the Ken Burns series. 2003 marks the 200th anniversary of this daring and ambitious journey into the unknown. Site also includes classroom resources, and ever-changing content.

Each decade of the 20th century is deeply explored in learning areas covering arts, technology, personalities and much more. Each area has many links to related information and related websites, and is illustrated with lots of period photographs.

Tip: The links do not open into a new page, so be careful of getting away from the site.

A little bit of everything about Benjamin Franklin, from a full text of his autobiography (and a shorter, 'good parts' version for student reports) and indexed Franklin quotes, through a reprint of the first issue of the New-England Courant, the first newspaper he worked on, through games and activities for students, two 360-degree VRML presentations. A great site for learning about early American history, and a streaming media video about the Electric Franklin project.

Fort Nisqually, originally a fur-trading post near present-day Tacoma, Washington, tells its story of British and Native American life in this lovely historical learning site. Illustrated with historical photos and great re-enactment photos by Mel Woods, it was created with the assistance of the Fort Nisqually Historical Site at http://www.fortnisqually.org/, where you can also find more info on Fort Nisqually and present day activities there.

Letters, diaries, maps, images, official records and more, in an interlinked archive that teaches about both the military and civilian sides of the U.S. Civil War, seen from both sides. Features animated maps of the theaters of war, which require the free Macromedia Shockwave Plug-in.

Tip: The main historical content is accessed from three links at the bottom of the illustration at the top of the page. Click one of them and use the Site Index link at the left of the page to get a good idea of what's available. You can get lost in here, but it'll be a great trip.

Images, re-enactment videos, and music of the Civil War period are only a few of the features on this very comprehensive site. The battles of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg are dissected in detail, photos, and biographies of some prominent figures in the war, and more.

Tip: Don't miss the "artifacts" link at the bottom of the page linked above. Letters and other objects from the period illustrated and explained.

Anyone who heard these diaries of a common Union soldier excerpted on the PBS-TV documentary The Civil War will recognize Elisha Hunt Rhodes' accounts of campaigns from Bull Run to Appomattox, which remain outstanding for their clarity and detail - 70 photos

Provocative and wholly absorbing, this fascinating work presents a radical interpretation of the Renaissance, arguing that the creation of culture during the time was inextricably tied to the creation of wealth

5 beautifully-illustrated learning areas. Each page gives a brief overview, then offers a more detailed article from a link at the bottom. Here and there are mini-pictures leading to even more details. How the Renaissance affected exploration, trade, the arts, and much more.

Tip: Don't ignore the link at bottom if you want more details than are offered on the first page of each learning area.

Fifteen brilliant biographies of the Renaissance era's most creative and vivid figures, fascinating individuals who embody the hopes, discoveries, and struggles of an age that gave birth to the modern world

Told through the diaries of Marion Sambourne, this book records the miutiae of daily life in a Victorian household: where she shopped, what the family ate, who came to call, instructions for the servants and household inventories from the price of hairpins to her opinion of Harrods

A detailed and complex site featuring over a dozen major site areas, plus 15 main articles linked to numerous sub-articles and tidbits. Unless you are already an expert on this period, you'll learn things you never knew about the Victorians and their personal, creative, and intellectual worlds.

Tip: From the page linked above, the articles are accessed through the text links on the left. The major site areas can be found by clicking the little Victoria button on the lower left. Happy Exploring!

"Suppose that everything we think we know about the Victorians is wrong." - a compact and mind-bending whirlwhind tour through the soul of the nineteenth century, and a round debunking of our assumptions about it

Much of what we know about the Black Plague of the fourteenth century is wrong. Recent scientific discoveries and groundbreaking historical research - the story of the Black Death as a gripping, intimate narrative

55 very detailed learning areas to deepen and broaded your knowledge of the events of the century just past. Linked historical maps keep you anchored geographically to the events. A very good site of its kind.

Tip: Use the "Search This Site" link at the upper right of the page linked above to find a thematic index to all the material covered in these lessons. Very helpful if you're looking for particulars.